Chapter 139: The Extreme Overthinking from Class C
Ibuki Mio recalled that scene—Elsie standing in front of the machine, skipping up to it, tapping the card, and the machine lighting up.
She saw it clearly at the time, but... she only saw Elsie go up; she didn't pay attention to the people nearby. Moreover, the machine was blocking Elsie's body. Strictly speaking, she hadn't actually seen the exact moment Elsie swiped the card.
Come to think of it, Katsuragi Keima was standing right next to Elsie. Horikita Suzune was also standing not far away, as was Kushida Kikyo.
If they wanted to cooperate and put on a play, they could have easily completed the operation the moment her line of sight was blocked.
"But... why?"
Ibuki Mio's voice trembled slightly.
"Why put on a show for me?"
Ryuen Kakeru looked at her with a complex gaze.
"Because you are the messenger. He let you see what he wanted you to see, and then you would tell Class C. Everything we know is only what he wants us to know."
Ibuki Mio fell silent, momentarily unsure of what to say.
She crouched in the tree hollow as rainwater drifted in from the opening, hitting her face. The icy sensation finally made her snap out of it little by little.
"He did it on purpose."
She whispered, "The keycard, the underwear, and today... he did it all on purpose."
Ibuki's voice grew lower and lower, as if she were talking to herself.
"He knew I would follow him, so he took a detour on purpose to make me think I was hiding well. He knew I would enter the tree hollow, so he left you here on purpose for me to see you. He knows everything... That's right... just as I thought... everything is within his expectations... that monster!"
Ryuen Kakeru leaned against the tree wall without speaking.
The back of his head still throbbed, and his face felt like it was burning, but his mind was clearer than ever.
He remembered the first time he went to find Katsuragi Keima, bringing Ishizaki, Albert, and Ibuki. Four people were taken down by one person.
When he woke up, he was lying where he fell, his body aching, remembering nothing.
He thought it was an accident, thought it was a sneak attack, thought he just had bad luck.
But thinking about it now, does someone who can take down four people in an instant need to use sneak attacks?
Even now, he didn't even have a memory of being attacked.
He had even hallucinated.
Speaking of which, his face seemed to be stinging with a burning pain as well.
"Ibuki."
"Yeah?"
"You said earlier that he took your transceiver?"
"Yeah, I found out the second day. He said he 'guessed,' but it was probably Elsie who discovered it at the time... That girl, as expected, is also faking it! She is a master no less than Katsuragi Keima. This pair of siblings—they are both monsters."
Ibuki Mio gave a bitter smile.
"I thought he really was just guessing at the time. Thinking back now, he knew from the very beginning that I was a spy, knew I would contact Class C, knew you were still on the island—he knew everything."
Ryuen Kakeru remained silent.
He thought about the days he had spent hiding alone on the island, moving carefully every day, avoiding the scouting routes of other classes, and choosing the most hidden tree hollows.
He thought he had hidden well, thought no one would find him. But Katsuragi Keima found him. Not because he had bad luck, not because Elsie got lost and accidentally bumped into him, but because—from the very beginning, he knew he would be hiding here.
After all, this island is so big; was it really just a coincidence that he found him?
Besides, average students wouldn't crawl into tree hollows for no reason.
Ryuen's heart couldn't truly settle.
When exactly had he been exposed?
Could it be that the opponent could truly deduce his behavioral trajectory?
No, no, no, no.
Ryuen's brain spun rapidly.
Since it was raining now, his movements were definitely restricted.
Katsuragi Keima must have deduced that he would definitely look for a place to hide from the rain, and so he found this spot.
Does this guy think that far ahead?
There is another possibility.
And that is...
His own communication device.
Ryuen lowered his head and looked at the transceiver at his waist—the tool he was originally going to use to communicate with Kaneda and Ibuki Mio.
Since Ibuki Mio's transceiver had already been seized by Katsuragi Keima, then wouldn't it mean...
Katsuragi Keima could use the signal to perform a reverse-trace on him.
This was theoretically feasible.
This guy...
In Ryuen Kakeru's eyes, Katsuragi Keima was capable of anything.
Even he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
"He's showing off," Ryuen suddenly said.
"What?"
"He let Elsie find me, knock me out, and let you see all of it. He doesn't need to do it himself; he doesn't need to come personally to tell me 'I know your plan.' He only needs to let Elsie do these things and then let you see it. That's enough. This is a display of strength—'Look, I don't even need to lift a finger; I can just send anyone to find you, knock you out, and leave you lying here like a dead dog. What do you have to fight me with?'"
Ibuki Mio stared at him.
There was no anger on Ryuen's face, no resentment, only a cold, sharp clarity.
He leaned against the tree wall, the corners of his mouth even turning up slightly—not a smile, but a sort of self-mockery.
"And then?" she asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Ryuen didn't answer.
He closed his eyes, leaning against the tree wall, listening to the sound of the rain in his ears—drip, drop—like a clock ticking.
His mind was racing, piecing all the information together—Elsie being able to find him meant Keima already knew his location; Ibuki's transceiver being taken meant Keima already knew
she was a spy; the keycard Ibuki saw might be a fake, meaning Keima was intentionally passing false intelligence.
And then there's Katsuragi's side...
If it were Katsuragi Keima, there was actually no need to come looking for him today.
As long as he let Elsie deliver the wrong information to him, Class C would very likely lose a massive amount of points for guessing the wrong leader.
For Class D, it would be equivalent to losing one competitor.
But why did he choose to knock him out?
It definitely wasn't just to show off.
No!
Ryuen suddenly realized something.
So that's it, so that's it!
His goal isn't just Class C at all!
Katsuragi Keima wants to achieve an absolute, crushing victory!
If Katsuragi Keima knows all the information...
Then the fact that I am cooperating with Katsuragi Kohei—the opponent probably already knows that too!
Is he using me to cut down the other classes?
That monster...
He opened his eyes.
"Ibuki, do you know Katsuragi?"
"Katsuragi Kohei from Class A?"
"Yeah. I made a deal with him. I give him information on the leaders of other classes, and he gives Class C points."
Ryuen's voice was very calm, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
"I'm afraid Keima wants to use my hand to deal with the other classes."
After he finished speaking, silence permeated between the two.
However, soon enough, Ibuki Mio was the first to speak:
"Ryuen."
Her gaze fell upon Ryuen's face, and a bold idea formed in her heart.
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever thought about... cooperating with him?"
Ryuen looked at her.
"Cooperate?"
"Right. Not against him, but with him."
Ibuki's voice was very soft but very serious.
"You said he's showing off his strength, but maybe it's not just showing off. Maybe he's telling you—'You can't win against me, but you can stand on my side.'"
Ryuen stared at her.
His pupils shook slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.
"You want me to bow my head to Class D?"
"It's not bowing your head. It's cooperation," Ibuki said earnestly.
"You have no personal grudge with him. You want to win, and he wants to win. Your goals aren't in conflict. Class A has Katsuragi, Class B has Ichinose; only Class D and Class C are the weakest. If your two classes cooperate, maybe you can win."
Ryuen didn't speak.
He leaned against the tree wall with his eyes closed. Ibuki's words spun in his head, over and over.
Cooperation.
He had never considered this possibility.
In Class C, he was used to ruling with violence and fear, used to treating everyone as an opponent, used to only winning and losing with no middle ground.
But perhaps Ibuki was right. Perhaps he had been doing things the wrong way all along.
"How do you know he's willing to cooperate?" he asked.
Ibuki paused for a moment.
"He let me see all this; maybe he's waiting for you to come find him," she said. "If he really wanted to destroy Class C, there would be no need to lead me to this place."
Ryuen fell silent.
Ibuki's conclusion was almost identical to the conjecture he just had.
"Ibuki."
"Yeah?"
"How have you been doing in Class D?"
Ibuki was stunned.
She didn't expect Ryuen to ask this, but after a moment of silence, she spoke up.
"Very well."
She said, "They treat me very well."
Ryuen looked at her. He had never seen Ibuki with such an expression—not cold, not guarded, and not the focus she had when performing a mission. It was a relaxed, warm expression with a hint of a smile.
In Class D, she seemed to be living very happily.
"Is that so? It seems you've changed quite a bit."
A meaningful smile appeared on Ryuen's face.
Ibuki blinked. "What?"
"Nothing."
Ryuen supported himself against the tree wall and stood up. His legs were a bit weak and the back of his head still hurt, but he stood very straight. "Let's go."
"Where to?"
"To find Katsuragi Keima."
Ryuen looked at her. "Didn't you say you wanted to cooperate? Then we'll go talk to him."
Ibuki stood up and looked at him, her eyes filled with disbelief. She completely hadn't expected Ryuen to actually agree to the suggestion.
"Are you sure?"
"Sure."
Ryuen walked to the mouth of the cave and pushed aside the vines. The rain had lessened, leaving only a fine drizzle drifting onto his face, though it probably wouldn't clear up anytime soon.
He took a deep breath and looked back at Ibuki.
"Lead the way."
Ibuki looked at his back.
That back wasn't particularly tall or large; he looked miserable, his clothes were covered in mud, and his hair was a mess.
But he stood very straight, his head tilted up slightly as if looking at something far away.
She suddenly felt that this Ryuen was different from before.
"Okay."
She nodded.
The two walked out of the tree hollow one after the other.
The rain had almost stopped. The forest was filled with the scent of damp earth, and water droplets hung from the leaves, glistening in the dim light.
Ibuki walked in front, and Ryuen followed behind. Neither spoke; there was only the sound of footsteps on the muddy ground—patter, patter.
Ten minutes later, the rain had completely stopped. The campfire at Class D's camp was almost burnt out, with only a few wisps of blue smoke slowly rising in the damp air.
The forest after the rain was filled with the fresh scent of soil and leaves. Water droplets still hung from the tents.
Karuizawa Kei crouched by the fire, poking at the ashes with a branch, trying to get the fire going again.
Sato Maya was helping pass dry wood. Sakura Airi stood to the side, holding firewood she had just gathered. Kushida Kikyo was organizing supplies that had been soaked by the rain. Horikita Suzune stood at the tent entrance with a map in her hand, her brow slightly furrowed.
Katsuragi Keima sat at the tent entrance, looking down at his handheld console's screen.
The rain had just stopped, the air was still very humid, and there were a few undried water spots on the screen. He wiped them with his sleeve and continued from his last save.
Elsie crouched next to him, pulling things out of a sack—they were all "Hell ingredients," but while the others weren't paying attention, she secretly hid them away again.
"Kami-sama, do you think Ryuen Kakeru will remember when he wakes up?"
Elsie packed away the ingredients and leaned over to ask.
"He'll remember some of it."
"Then will he tell other people?"
Katsuragi Keima's fingers paused for a moment as he thought.
"No. He'll probably think it was a dream. After all, a normal person's logic wouldn't allow them to believe in such things."
Elsie was relieved and went back to organizing the pile of things. Keima's fingers danced over the buttons as he began playing his game again.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Mio-chan!"
Right then, Karuizawa Kei's voice rang out.
"I-Ibuki? And—"
Her voice suddenly pitched higher, sharp with disbelief.
"Ryuen Kakeru?!"
Katsuragi Keima's finger slipped violently, pressing the wrong button.
The character on the screen immediately chose the wrong option, causing the favorability with the heroine to take a massive hit. He paused the game at lightning speed to reload his save, then looked up, following Karuizawa Kei's gaze.
At the edge of the camp, Ibuki Mio stood there, soaked to the bone, hair plastered to her face, the hem of her raincoat still dripping.
A person stood beside her. Ryuen Kakeru.
He wore a crumpled tracksuit covered in mud and grass stains, his messy hair stuck to his forehead, and his face was smeared with black ash.
The tips of his eyebrows seemed singed, his eyelashes were a bit shorter, and there was a faint mark on the bridge of his nose.
He stood next to Ibuki with his back very straight and his head slightly raised, but those eyes were clearly carrying a hint of exhaustion. His pupils weren't fully focused, as if he had just struggled out of a long nightmare.
Katsuragi Keima was stunned.
He stared at Ryuen, and Ryuen stared back at him.
The two made eye contact for two seconds.
Katsuragi Keima's mind went blank.
'Huh? Why did he come looking for me?'
Read ahead by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting